need some books

[didj prophet]

so im tryin to start reading more, at least as much as i used to, so im stopping by the berkeley library tomorrow to stock up, i started reading fear and loathing in las vegas today, so far on my list ive got:

"on war" - carl con clausewitz

"hells angels" - hunter s. thompson

"the psychopath: the mask of sanity" - dr. hervey checkley

im lookin to read anything educational, historical, or just generally interesting as opposed to just another novel, although i am in no way opposed to reading a good novel if anyone has suggestions, but im looking more for non-fiction, and especially on unconventional or uncommon topics

so commence with the suggestions

[Max Shapiro]

on war was so boring, i struggled to get through that thing, 7 military classics of ancient china were so much better, so was stratagy by bh liddel hart, check those out. Get romance of the three kingdoms if you like books on war and history, the books a novel but its pretty damn accurate historically.

[didj prophet]

ok then, i do have a specific interest in "on war," so i will probably get that anyway, along with sun tzu's art of war, but i will check those other ones out too

some other additions ive made in the past 30 minutes are henry david thoreau and dostoevsky, so no need to suggest those

[skimcentral]

Pagan Christianity by Frank Viola--if you can find it. It documents historically and Biblically how the mainstream Christian church got most of their practices from what they consider pagan religions and cultures.

[steve-o]

lonesome traveler - jack kerouac. it'll give you a new perspective.

[didj prophet]

awesome, exactly what im lookin for, thanks guys, keep em comin

[steve-o]

The Age of Spiritual Machines - Ray Kurzweil. about computers becoming more intelligent than humans.

[Ryan Vaughan]

Get Kingdom of Feak by Hunter Thompson instead of Hells Angels. I have read both and Kingdom of Fear is much more entertaining and more journalistic. Other than that

The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test - Tom Wolfe (a novel but worth the read)
A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess (another great novel)
A People's History of The United States - Howard Zinn (a bit dry but it is American history from the "losers" perspective)

I've got a lot more but those are a few of my favorites

[marcyman]

How about everyone's favorite, Salman Rushdie's, The Satanic Verses.

[skimnczach]

lonesome traveler - jack kerouac. it'll give you a new perspective.

i heard he was a fag

try "the perks of being a wallflower" by "steven chowbsky" (sp)

and "the curious incident of the dog in the night time"

i liked them both

also

if you like mice and fantasy tales

redwall - brian jacques

hahaha

[Pack A Bowl]

the emperor wears no clothes by jack herer.

[steve-o]

i heard he was a fag

try "the perks of being a wallflower" by "steven chowbsky" (sp)

and "the curious incident of the dog in the night time"

i liked them both

also

if you like mice and fantasy tales

redwall - brian jacques

hahaha

no ginsberg was a fag. he was gay but fracking brilliant. kerouac was just brilliant.

[skimnczach]

haha actually i was quoting my chemistry teacher when he saw that i was reading that book

that was the first thing that came out of his mouth

[DjMattyD]

I personally dislike keruack a lot....him and William S. Buroughs and Hemmingway are often used as an excuse for pseudo intellectuals to act like beefhead jackasses or junkie druggie frack faces....

as for good non fiction try "Elegant Universe" by Brian Green

[didj prophet]

Get Kingdom of Feak by Hunter Thompson instead of Hells Angels. I have read both and Kingdom of Fear is much more entertaining and more journalistic. Other than that

I've got a lot more but those are a few of my favorites

ill get kingdom of fear too then, i plan on reading a good amount of his books now that i have started fear and loathing in las vegas, and the whole hells angels thing seems pretty interesting, keep posting more of your favorites, im hopin to put together a summer reading list out of this thread, hahaha

I personally dislike keruack a lot....him and William S. Buroughs and Hemmingway are often used as an excuse for pseudo intellectuals to act like beefhead jackasses or junkie druggie frack faces....

as for good non fiction try "Elegant Universe" by Brian Green

i couldnt comment on the first part because i havent read any kerouac or buroughs yet, but im not much of a hemmingway fan, so i hear you on that one

and i have elegant universe on my netflix queue, i totally forgot it was a book, hahaha, ill have to get the book first

by the way if it helps anyone make suggestions, kurt vonnegut is my favorite author, and if you don't like vonnegut, then you probably shouldnt suggest any books because you don't know what you're talking about

[kcskimkid]

joh krakeaur "everest"
or the da vinci code.

[idrathrbskimmin]

For history - Manhunt: The 12-day Chase for Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson

or

In cold blood by Truman Capote is always a good one

[didj prophet]

THANK YOU

i just watched capote about two days ago, and i remember making a mental note to go get in cold blood, and i had already forgotten it even existed, this is why i started this thread, i think of a million books to read over the course of a week and i never remember to write down names or get any of them

[steve-o]

I personally dislike keruack a lot....him and William S. Buroughs and Hemmingway are often used as an excuse for pseudo intellectuals to act like beefhead jackasses or junkie druggie frack faces....

i hate hemingway. that said, i really got a lot out of kerouac and burroughs. i'm not down with all the drug use but the way they always wanted to try anything, they were open to anything, the way they were always searching for a meaning, and the way they just kind of rolled with everything made an impact on me. i think they're still pretty relevant today.

[omi one]

Fear and loathing was a good read. Also, try "on the road" by Kerouack. I always find that by reading the unabridge works of Robert Frost, I feel more enlightened and like I am better than every one else.

[Rob G]

Freakonomics by Steven Levitt. awesome

[steve-o]

Fear and loathing was a good read. Also, try "on the road" by Kerouack. I always find that by reading the unabridge works of Robert Frost, I feel more enlightened and like I am better than every one else.

on the road is what turned me on to kerouac but if you're going for his fiction try dharma bums or visions of cody. poetry wise mexico city blues is sick and obviously howl by ginsberg.